Strength training is difficult but good for you. You know that. That is why you spend hours in the gym working out. Unfortunately, you’re not getting anywhere. Here are some of the common mistakes that can prevent you from gaining muscle.
1. Nutrition
What you put in is what you get out. Seriously. If you reward yourself after the gym with a side order of junk food, you won’t gain as much muscle as you would like. Supplements help, but nothing beats good old-fashioned nutrition.
Eat proper food and more of it. Also, ensure that you eat high quality lean protein, fiber and unsaturated fat in correct proportion and at the right time of the day.
You have to spend as much time planning (and sticking to) your diet as you do planning your training. Remember, even Lamborghinis cannot run properly on dirty oil.
2. Too Much Cardio
If you are training like a demon to get the body you want but not gaining muscle, one of the most common mistakes you could be making is doing too much cardio.
Cardio is essential to overall health, especially cardiovascular health. However, cardio exercises burn through calories – calories that you need to build muscle. In other words, those calories you are using for cardio are not available for building muscle.
Save those calories for doing the heavy lifting or resistance training and keep cardio exercises to 2 – 3 sessions a week.
3. Not Enough Compound Movements
Compound movements such as dips and back squats stimulate two or more different joints to get entire muscle groups working together. Your body then responds by releasing hormones that contribute to building body mass and fat loss.
Instead of focusing on one area and then the next area, try working more than one group of muscles in an exercise. It not only saves time, it also puts calories to work where they are needed the most.
